Maryland
Joe Vogel makes his mark in Md. General Assembly
Montgomery County Democrat is one of state’s youngest lawmakers
Maryland state Del. Joe Vogel (D-Montgomery County) on Sunday during an interview with the Washington Blade praised the many legislative milestones that marked this year’s legislative session.
Most of the lawmaker’s bills addressed the opioid crisis, mental health, gun violence and LGBTQ issues. Vogel noted he opted to work to safeguard people’s fundamental rights.
“We have been leading the way on this [LGBTQ issues.] This legislative session, we passed a bill to expand access to gender-affirming care for Medicaid recipients, making it so that if you are poor and on Medicaid, you have access to the same gender affirming care as if you are wealthy, and on private insurance,” he told the Blade before he attended the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund’s National Champagne Brunch that took place at the JW Marriott Hotel in D.C.
Maryland has also been at the forefront of abortion rights by driving the efforts to enshrine the right into the state’s constitution. The General Assembly also passed a measure to end the state’s statute of limitations for when a civil suit can be filed against public or private institutions when related to child sexual abuse.
Vogel described Democratic Gov. Wes Moore as “a phenomenal champion for the LGBTQ+ community.”
“He has been a partner on a lot of these pieces of legislation that I mentioned earlier,” said Vogel. “He had us over at his house recently just to express to our LGBTQ+ caucus — just to express his commitment to our community.”
Vogel differentiated Moore from other governors, including Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
“He (Moore) is someone who is such a contrast to governors like Ron DeSantis, or Greg Abbott,” said Vogel. “They wake up every morning thinking about what they can do to hurt our community, whereas the governor of Maryland right, Wes Moore, he wakes up every morning, and I’m convinced he thinks about what you can do for the well-being of every Marylander. And that includes the LGBTQ community.”
‘There is a hunger for a new generation of leadership’
Vogel, who represents District 17, is 26 and one of the House of Delegates’ youngest members.
“There is a hunger for a new generation of leadership,” Vogel told the Blade, referring to young politicians who are beginning to take center stage around the country. “And I think, without a doubt, you have a Republican Party that is intent on eroding our democracy — on attacking our fundamental rights.”
Vogel, who was born in Uruguay, noted the similarity he saw between the dictatorship that his homeland suffered in the 20th century and the current situation in the U.S.
“It’s something very interesting about the fall of your democracy — is that what you had going on, there was a far right, that was chipping away at those democratic institutions. And the left was growing hopeless, and losing faith in democratic governance,” he said. “They were saying, ‘Well, the system’s broken anyways, it’s not benefiting us, whatever. We don’t care about anything.’ And if you look at this country right now, though, that is a pattern that we are seeing here, we are seeing a far right attempting to chip away in whatever way they can at our fundamental rights and democratic institutions.”
Uruguay’s civic-military dictatorship lasted 12 years, from 1973-1985. It carried out many human rights violations that included the use of extreme torture methods and forced disappearances.
The term “civic-military” refers to the military regime’s relatively slow annexing of power from civilian presidents who continued to serve as head of state — contrary to other Latin American countries in which militaries immediately took control through coups.
Vogel, for his part, did not rule out the possibility of running for higher office, calling it a possibility to continue to “fight” for the issues that are happening today.
“That’s what we’ll do,” he said.
Maryland
Girlfriends charged with Silver Spring murder to go on trial in 2027
Prosecutors charged both women with killing mother of one of them
Two women identified as a couple who are charged with the May 22, 2026, murder of the mother one of them in her Silver Spring home and who were arrested three weeks later in Ohio are scheduled to go on trial for murder April 19, 2027.
According to online records filed with Montgomery County Circuit Court in Rockville, Vanessa Tjongarero-Henderson, 29, of Clarksburg, Md., and Samantha Raebel, 36, of Phoenix are being held without bond in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility until the time of their trial.
Statements from Montgomery County police show the two women were arrested June 10 in Genoa, Ohio, after fleeing from the scene of the murder in Silver Spring. Police statements and court records show they were extradited back to Maryland in July, where prosecutors with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office obtained indictments against them for murder.
Earlier statements from Montgomery County police say their investigation into the murder led to their decision to initially charge the two women with first-degree murder for the death of Hilde Henderson, 67, who was Tjongarero-Henderson’s mother.
“Through the course of the investigation, detectives identified Henderson’s daughter, Vanessa Tjongarero-Henderson, and Vanessa’s girlfriend, Raebel, as the suspects,” one of the police statements says. It says police obtained arrest warrants for both women and launched a nationwide search seeking help from the public in in locating them.
One of the police statements says an autopsy determined the cause of Hilde Henderson’s death was blunt-force trauma injuries brought about by a murder. Police and the State’s Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting the case, have yet to disclose whether they have determined a motive for the murder.
Court records show that prior to the start of the April 19, 2027, trial a “motion” hearing was scheduled for Oct. 30, 2026, a pre-trail conference was scheduled for Feb. 12, 2027, and another motion hearing and a status hearing were scheduled for March 12, 2027.
Court records also show that Tjongarero-Henderson is being represented by attorneys with the Montgomery County court system’s public defender service. The records show that Raebel initially had been represented by a public defender service attorney, but updated records show Aug. 14 is listed as the “removal date” for that attorney.
The docket shows that on Aug. 20, two new attorneys with the prominent D.C. law firm of Covington & Burling made their official appearance as her attorneys in the murder case. One of them, Daniel Solomon, told the Washington Blade in response to an inquiry that the defense has no comment at this time on the case.
He confirmed that Covington & Burling is representing Raebel on a no-cost, pro bono bass.
The office of the Montgomery County public defender service didn’t immediately respond to a phone message from the Blade asking for a comment on the Tjongarero-Henderson case.
Congress
Chris Van Hollen says the Democratic Party needs change. Is he the one to lead it?
Senator is backing anti-establishment Democrats across the country
By LEE O. SANDERLIN | The Democratic Party is having something of an identity crisis — losing to President Donald Trump twice in three elections will do that.
Should the party embrace anti-establishment figures who espouse progressive policy ideas like Medicare for all and rhetoric about unrigging the economy for the 1 percent? Or should Democrats try to appeal to moderates who want to return to semi-normalcy in a time of political upheaval?
Although he’s been in Congress since 2002, with key leadership roles throughout his tenure, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, 67, counts himself firmly in the anti-establishment camp.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Maryland
Anne Arundel schools updates gender identity regulation following Trump administration threats
District facing federal lawsuit, White House threats over guidelines
By JESSICA CALEFATI | Under pressure from the Trump-Vance administration, Anne Arundel County Public Schools Supt. Mark Bedell announced Wednesday the district had updated a regulation intended to protect transgender students’ right to be called by their chosen name.
The revised language makes clear that district rules on gender identity do not block parents’ rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as the federal government alleged last month, and that a student’s gender identity will not be treated as confidential medical information.
“No policy, guideline, or practice may limit or otherwise interfere with parental rights under FERPA,” Bedell wrote in a Wednesday letter to the community. “This includes any information maintained in education records that relates to gender identity, transgender status, sexual orientation, preferred name, or preferred pronouns.”
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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